The go-getter attitude of the new-age entrepreneurs bodes well for the advanced technologies emerging in the market. They are not hesitant to adopt any technology that can enhance their productivity and help them get ahead of their competitors.
DaaS (Desktop as a Service) is one such service. It is a major player in desktop virtualization solutions and is expected to reach a market size of $ 4671 million by the end of 2022.
Gone are the days when the businesses purchased bulky physical desktops for their offices. Now the time has come to adopt DaaS and be free from all the IT-related nuisance.
With DaaS, you can opt for virtual desktops from a third-party provider and access them from any remote location using your smartphones and tablets. The DaaS provider takes care of everything from hardware maintenance to IT support.
However, it is vital to choose the DaaS provider wisely as all your data and application are hosted on their servers.
Here are some questions you should ask the DaaS service provider before making a decision.
10 Questions To Ask the Desktop as a Service DaaS provider
1. What Level of Desktop Performance Do You Offer?
It is quite an obvious question to ask a DaaS provider.
If a DaaS provider cannot offer you the desired desktop experience, why would you choose the services? DaaS services are expected to offer you the same desktop experience as the one you are sitting in front of. There should be none to minimal latency in operating the virtual desktops.
Hence, you should ask the DaaS provider about the infrastructure they deploy to offer you the services like high-performance servers and SSD storage. You should also ask the provider about the quality of graphics in the virtual desktops.
For low latency, it is also preferred that the data center in which the DaaS infrastructure is setup should be near to your location.
2. Are the DaaS Pricing Plans Flexible?
Like any other service model, where the customers opt for services from a third-party provider in the exchange of a monthly fee, DaaS also offers customers the flexibility to choose their desired plans.
Hence, you should ask the DaaS provider about the pricing plans and if any discount is on offer. Most DaaS providers offer discounts if you select the annual plan.
Also, you can ask the provider if the plans can be customized according to the needs of your business.
What About Customer Support?
What if there is a problem with a user working from home in the middle of the night? If she or he calls the DaaS provider, will they respond?
When we talk about a DaaS solution provider, customer support is imperative. Ask the provider if they offer support round the clock. Ask about their average resolution and response time. Also, the provider should be available on multiple platforms like call, chat, or email so that you can contact them in any circumstance.
3. What Is the Level of Security?
Before you decide to opt for any service provider, you are always wary about the security of your data. It always seems like the data is more secure under your nose, i.e., in your local desktops.
Hence, it should be your priority to enquire about the security safeguards deployed by the DaaS provider. It could include data encryption methods, multi-factor authentication, firewall protection, data monitoring, Intrusion Detection and Prevention, among others.
Another important aspect is the access control method that the provider offers.
It is highly recommended that if the security offered by the provider is not up to the mark, you should not compromise on it.
4. What Is the Uptime Value That You Offer?
Uptime is the total availability of the virtual desktops guaranteed by the DaaS provider. Most renowned companies offering virtual desktops offer an uptime of 99.99%, which means that the desktops are available almost throughout the year.
Ask the provider about the uptime they promise to the customers. Also, you should make sure that the uptime is mentioned in their SLA (Service Level Agreement), which makes them legally obligated to offer the same.
5. Do You Implement Business Continuity with DaaS?
A Business Continuity plan, as the name suggests, is a set of procedures and protocols to ensure that the desktops are always available.
Business Continuity involves a detailed analysis of all the risks that can hamper the performance and accessibility of the virtual desktops. Along with that, it also describes the steps to be followed in the case of such an event.
Disaster Recovery is another aspect that you should look for while choosing a DaaS provider. The provider should be able to retrieve your data even if a specific location has been hit by a disaster.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery are both distinguishing factors that only the best of DaaS providers offer.
6. What Level of Expertise and Experience Do You Have?
Although DaaS is a relatively nascent domain, there are various providers that are offering DaaS services from the very beginning. While being in the business is not an indication of the level of service that the provider offers, it still shows that the customers have faith in their services.
Another aspect is the expertise of the provider in offering DaaS services. Ask if the provider has experts in the field of desktop virtualization and cloud computing. You would not want to get virtual desktops from a provider that do not have expertise in the area.
7. What Kind of Desktops Are Included in Your Services?
There are mainly two kinds of virtual desktops- Non-persistent and Persistent, each with their set of pros and cons.
The non-persistent desktops revert to their original state once restarted. Hence, if a user logs in the virtual desktop, he or she is assigned the desktop only until logout. If the same user logs in again, a different random desktop is assigned to them.
On the contrary, a persistent desktop saves all the user settings even after it is restarted. The user can log out from the virtual desktop and log in again to connect to the same one. However, the persistent desktops take up more storage space than non-persistent desktops.
You should know the kind of desktops you need for your office and select the provider that offers you the same.
8. Do You Offer App Virtualization?
Application virtualization is similar to desktop virtualization, where the virtual copies of an application can be installed simultaneously on various virtual desktops.
Another advantage of app virtualization is that the applications can run on any platform without the restrictions of the Operating System.
Ask the DaaS solution provider for application virtualization.
9. What Terms and Conditions Are Mentioned in the SLA?
The Service Level Agreement (SLA) is an important document which caters to the essential terms of service that must be offered by the provider. One of the mistakes that the customers make is not to go through the SLA thoroughly.
Hence, you should read the terms and conditions mentioned in the SLA carefully. There might be some clauses that you might not agree with.
10. What Type of Backup Solutions Are Available?
Backup is one feature that most business owners neglect while opting for a DaaS provider. Maybe they think that they can backup their data on local servers or do not know its importance.
However, having a backup system offered by the provider takes away a lot of your headache. You do not have to maintain local backup servers or worry whether the data is safe.
Hence, ask if the provider offers data backup and for what duration. You should also ask the provider whether they offer automated backup solutions.
Desktop as a Service (DaaS) FAQ’s
- VDI vs DaaS : What is the difference between both?
- Choose Your Desktop as a Service (DaaS) Pricing Plan
- 14 Stats About DaaS and VDI You Should Know
- 6 Industries That Are Adopting DaaS During COVID-19 Pandemic
- Top 10 Use Cases for Desktop as a Service
What Does Choosing the Best DaaS Provider Entail?
Choosing the best DaaS provider implies that you do not have to spend time and efforts into menial tasks, which enables you to focus on the more critical processes.
For instance, since the time wasted on the IT issues earlier is minimized by opting for DaaS, you can utilize that time on acquiring more customers.
Moreover, you save capital as well as operational costs as there is no need for local hardware setup.
There might not be any downside to selecting Desktop as a Service. Still, the performance and availability of the virtual desktops depend on your choice of DaaS providers.
So, choose wisely!
Do you have more questions about choosing the Best DaaS provider? Talk to our Cloud Strategy Expert at 855-622-8313.
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